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“Many European
cities of Dublin’s size are reorganising the backbone of their
public transport system with a tram network. Increasingly
“tram-train” solutions are in place where the rolling stock
of street trams is also suitable for lightly used railway
tracks, thus extending the service far beyond the urban area.
With flexible interior design and higher speed achievements,
specific needs like an airport express service with a low
investment cost or tram-trains revitalising the Western Rail
Corridor can be envisaged. The value of these concepts in
the context of the Irish “National Spatial Strategy” cannot
be overestimated.
The LUAS concept in Dublin has ruled out these options due
to the track width chosen differing from CIE’s, which means
a full integration with CIE and DART systems cannot take place.
Unfortunately the feasibility of sharing railway tracks by
heavy and light vehicles has not been discussed yet.
Sligo town recently upgraded to “Gateway” status and is currently
discussing a much smaller, but farther reaching regional planning
proposal which would implement many of these aspects and also
promote sustainable local energy options for transport.
Sligo authorities are currently preparing for the building
of a four lane “Mid Block-Road” which separates the Railway
station from the commercial core of the town - a 1970’s solution
in favour of car dependency, which will have further severe
and negative impacts on local and regional mobility costs
and the importing of fossil fuel into the region.
A local group of planners and business people felt it imperative
that more options should be carefully examined, protecting
Sligo’s built heritage and envisaging the region’s profile
as environmentally highly valuable. A proposed feasibility
study, Low Energy Transport for Sligo, was endorsed by Sligo
Corporation 1999 and received funding under the EU ALTENER
program.
Proposal
Due to geographical limitations imposed by the sea, lakes
and surrounding mountains Sligo can only expand to the North
and South and main road access also dominates from these directions.
With park and ride places already discussed north and south
of the enlarged urban area it is tempting to search for an
urban transit corridor which would cover the town centre as
well as main residential and employment areas with short walking
distances. This transport corridor, if based on trams, would
only require a fraction of the energy to be provided for cars
and buses per person/km/capita. The Sligo corridor, approximately
8 km in length, would need a track segregated from cars and
granted priority usage if guided through the towns traffic
calmed old streets.
Sligo’s urban area provides a feasible tram based route if
the CIE railway corridor from Dublin south into Sligo is taken
into account. From a park and ride at Carraroe the historic,
not laid second track of the Great Western Railway Line could
be used into Sligo Railway Station, where the tram would enter
the urban streetscape of Wine Street. After crossing the Garavogue
River at Stephen Street, the tram would bound north towards
The Mall, the General Hospital, the university and would end
at Bundoran Road where a park and ride is proposed.
92% of the town centre would be less than 40m or 8 minutes
walk away from a tram stop. Most secondary schools, all third
level institutions, public buildings, museums and shopping
areas are in the vicinity of one of the 17 proposed tram stops.
Another important feature of the report is the proposed creation
of a new urban square at Sligo’s Railway station, allowing
for the attractive integration of all means of transport:
urban and regional buses, taxis, and a bike station with various
urban and tourist services.
Integrating renewable power
Working with an awareness of the European and Irish targets
on energy and savings, the planning team carried out an evaluation
on how to provide local sustainable energy to operate the
trams. The proposed tram fleet consists of eight Parry People
Mover vehicles whose flywheel drive is charged electrically
at selected tram stops with short energy uptakes.
Sligo County Council’s findings confirmed that the reconstruction
of the Garavogue river’s lower weir- close to the tram route-
would allow for an electrical water turbine. The annual energy
needs for the eight trams have been calculated at approximately
430000 kwh. The total annual output of the water turbine is
estimated at approximately 900000 kwh, giving plenty of space
for more trams or a second route.
Environmental and educational excellence
The proposal has been welcomed at EU conferences in Barcelona
and Tenerife as an example of good urban planning practices
and impressive environmental education.
The planning report has been presented twice to Mr. Noel Dempsey,
then Minister for the Environment, addressing in a partnership
approach questions and feasible alternatives to an outdated
proposal of a Mid Block National Road corridor through the
heart of Sligo, an issue which has already humiliated and
polarised the people of Sligo.
While many aspects have to remain in the political context,
ministers have failed, through either public enquiry or directives,
to demonstrate that public transport, a key element of energy/planning
policies of this government, can viably happen if the Mid
Block Road is implemented”.
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